Add message system (inbox, read view, dropdown) and truncate helper

Implemented message retrieval and read logic in storage layer

Added handlers for inbox and individual message view

Integrated messages into topbar dropdown with unread badge

Added truncate helper to template functions

Created new templates: messages/index.html and messages/read.html

Fixed missing template function error in topbar rendering

handlers/messages.go

@@ -0,0 +1,54 @@
+package handlers
+
+import (
+	"database/sql"
+	"log"
+	"net/http"
+
+	"synlotto-website/helpers"
+	"synlotto-website/storage"
+)
+
+func MessagesInboxHandler(db *sql.DB) http.HandlerFunc {
+	return func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		data := BuildTemplateData(db, w, r)
+		context := helpers.TemplateContext(w, r, data)
+
+		tmpl := helpers.LoadTemplateFiles("messages.html", "templates/account/messages/index.html")
+
+		err := tmpl.ExecuteTemplate(w, "layout", context)
+		if err != nil {
+			helpers.RenderError(w, r, 500)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+func ReadMessageHandler(db *sql.DB) http.HandlerFunc {
+	return func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		idStr := r.URL.Query().Get("id")
+		messageID := helpers.Atoi(idStr)
+
+		session, _ := helpers.GetSession(w, r)
+		userID, ok := session.Values["user_id"].(int)
+		if !ok {
+			helpers.RenderError(w, r, 403)
+			return
+		}
+
+		message, err := storage.GetMessageByID(db, userID, messageID)
+		if err != nil {
+			log.Printf("❌ Message not found: %v", err)
+			message = nil
+		} else if !message.IsRead {
+			_ = storage.MarkMessageAsRead(db, messageID, userID)
+		}
+
+		data := BuildTemplateData(db, w, r)
+		context := helpers.TemplateContext(w, r, data)
+		context["Message"] = message
+
+		tmpl := helpers.LoadTemplateFiles("read-message.html", "templates/account/messages/read.html")
+
+		tmpl.ExecuteTemplate(w, "layout", context)
+	}
+}

handlers/notifications.go

@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ func NotificationsHandler(db *sql.DB) http.HandlerFunc {
 		data := BuildTemplateData(db, w, r)
 		context := helpers.TemplateContext(w, r, data)
 
-		tmpl := helpers.LoadTemplateFiles("notifications.html", "templates/account/notifications.html")
+		tmpl := helpers.LoadTemplateFiles("index.html", "templates/account/notifications/index.html")
 
 		err := tmpl.ExecuteTemplate(w, "layout", context)
 		if err != nil {

helpers/pages.go

@@ -1,24 +1,40 @@
 package helpers
 
-// ToDo should be a handler?
 import (
 	"fmt"
 	"log"
 	"net/http"
-
+	"os"
 	"synlotto-website/models"
 )
 
 func RenderError(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request, statusCode int) {
+	log.Printf("⚙️ RenderError called with status: %d", statusCode)
+
 	context := TemplateContext(w, r, models.TemplateData{})
 
-	page := fmt.Sprintf("templates/error/%d.html", statusCode)
+	pagePath := fmt.Sprintf("templates/error/%d.html", statusCode)
-	tmpl := LoadTemplateFiles(fmt.Sprintf("%d.html", statusCode), page)
+	log.Printf("📄 Checking for template file: %s", pagePath)
+
+	if _, err := os.Stat(pagePath); err != nil {
+		log.Printf("🚫 Template file missing: %s", err)
+		http.Error(w, http.StatusText(statusCode), statusCode)
+		return
+	}
+
+	log.Println("✅ Template file found, loading...")
+
+	tmpl := LoadTemplateFiles(fmt.Sprintf("%d.html", statusCode), pagePath)
 
 	w.WriteHeader(statusCode)
 	err := tmpl.ExecuteTemplate(w, "layout", context)
 	if err != nil {
-		log.Printf("❌ Failed to render error page for %d: %v", statusCode, err)
+		log.Printf("❌ Failed to render error page layout: %v", err)
 		http.Error(w, http.StatusText(statusCode), statusCode)
+		return
 	}
+
+	log.Println("✅ Successfully rendered 500 page")
 }
+
+//ToDo Pages.go /template.go to be merged?

helpers/template.go

@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ package helpers
 
 import (
 	"html/template"
+	"log"
 	"net/http"
 	"strings"
 
@@ -59,6 +60,12 @@ func TemplateFuncs() template.FuncMap {
 		"inSlice":    InSlice,
 		"lower":      lower,
 		"rangeClass": rangeClass,
+		"truncate": func(s string, max int) string {
+			if len(s) <= max {
+				return s
+			}
+			return s[:max] + "..."
+		},
 	}
 }
 
@@ -69,6 +76,7 @@ func LoadTemplateFiles(name string, files ...string) *template.Template {
 	}
 	all := append(shared, files...)
 
+	log.Printf("📄 Loading templates: %v", all)
 	return template.Must(template.New(name).Funcs(TemplateFuncs()).ParseFiles(all...))
 }
 

main.go

@@ -68,6 +68,9 @@ func setupAccountRoutes(mux *http.ServeMux, db *sql.DB) {
 	mux.HandleFunc("/signup", middleware.Auth(false)(handlers.Signup))
 	mux.HandleFunc("/account/tickets/add_ticket", handlers.AddTicket(db))
 	mux.HandleFunc("/account/tickets/my_tickets", handlers.GetMyTickets(db))
+	mux.HandleFunc("/account/messages", middleware.Auth(true)(handlers.MessagesInboxHandler(db)))
+	mux.HandleFunc("/account/messages/read", middleware.Auth(true)(handlers.ReadMessageHandler(db)))
+	mux.HandleFunc("/account/notifications", middleware.Auth(true)(handlers.NotificationsHandler(db)))
 	mux.HandleFunc("/account/notifications/read", middleware.Auth(true)(handlers.MarkNotificationReadHandler(db)))
 }
 

middleware/recover.go

@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import (
 	"log"
 	"net/http"
 	"runtime/debug"
+	"synlotto-website/helpers"
 )
 
 func Recover(next http.Handler) http.Handler {
@@ -12,7 +13,8 @@ func Recover(next http.Handler) http.Handler {
 			if rec := recover(); rec != nil {
 				log.Printf("🔥 Recovered from panic: %v\n%s", rec, debug.Stack())
 
-				http.Error(w, "Internal server error", http.StatusInternalServerError)
+				// ✅ Call your custom template-based fallback
+				helpers.RenderError(w, r, http.StatusInternalServerError)
 			}
 		}()
 		next.ServeHTTP(w, r)

models/user.go

@@ -23,12 +23,13 @@ type Notification struct {
 }
 
 type Message struct {
-	ID        int
+	ID          int
-	Sender    string
+	SenderId    int
-	Subject   string
+	RecipientId int
-	Message   string
+	Subject     string
-	IsRead    bool
+	Message     string
-	CreatedAt time.Time
+	IsRead      bool
+	CreatedAt   time.Time
 }
 
 var db *sql.DB

storage/messages.go

@@ -2,24 +2,25 @@ package storage
 
 import (
 	"database/sql"
+	"fmt"
 	"synlotto-website/models"
 )
 
 func GetMessageCount(db *sql.DB, userID int) (int, error) {
 	var count int
 	err := db.QueryRow(`
-		SELECT COUNT(*) FROM users_messages 
+		SELECT COUNT(*) FROM user_messages 
-		WHERE user_id = ? AND is_read = FALSE
+		WHERE recipient_id = ? AND is_read = FALSE
 	`, userID).Scan(&count)
 	return count, err
 }
 
 func GetRecentMessages(db *sql.DB, userID int, limit int) []models.Message {
 	rows, err := db.Query(`
-		SELECT id, title, message, is_read 
+		SELECT id, sender_id, recipient_id, subject, body, is_read, created_at
-		FROM users_messages 
+		FROM user_messages
-		WHERE user_id = ? 
+		WHERE recipient_id = ?
-		ORDER BY created_at DESC 
+		ORDER BY created_at DESC
 		LIMIT ?
 	`, userID, limit)
 	if err != nil {
@@ -30,9 +31,53 @@ func GetRecentMessages(db *sql.DB, userID int, limit int) []models.Message {
 	var messages []models.Message
 	for rows.Next() {
 		var m models.Message
-		rows.Scan(&m.ID, &m.Subject, &m.Message, &m.IsRead)
+		err := rows.Scan(
-		messages = append(messages, m)
+			&m.ID,
+			&m.SenderId,
+			&m.RecipientId,
+			&m.Subject,
+			&m.Message,
+			&m.IsRead,
+			&m.CreatedAt,
+		)
+		if err == nil {
+			messages = append(messages, m)
+		}
 	}
-
 	return messages
 }
+
+func GetMessageByID(db *sql.DB, userID, messageID int) (*models.Message, error) {
+	row := db.QueryRow(`
+		SELECT id, sender_id, recipient_id, subject, body, is_read, created_at
+		FROM user_messages
+		WHERE id = ? AND recipient_id = ?
+	`, messageID, userID)
+
+	var m models.Message
+	err := row.Scan(&m.ID, &m.SenderId, &m.RecipientId, &m.Subject, &m.Message, &m.IsRead, &m.CreatedAt)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	return &m, nil
+}
+
+func MarkMessageAsRead(db *sql.DB, messageID, userID int) error {
+	result, err := db.Exec(`
+		UPDATE user_messages
+		SET is_read = TRUE
+		WHERE id = ? AND recipient_id = ?
+	`, messageID, userID)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
+	rowsAffected, err := result.RowsAffected()
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	if rowsAffected == 0 {
+		return fmt.Errorf("no matching message found for user_id=%d and message_id=%d", userID, messageID)
+	}
+	return nil
+}

storage/schema.go

@@ -114,8 +114,9 @@ CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS my_tickets (
 const SchemaUsersMessages = `
 CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS users_messages (
 	id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY AUTOINCREMENT,
-	user_id INTEGER NOT NULL REFERENCES users(id),
+	senderId INTEGER NOT NULL REFERENCES users(id),
-	title TEXT NOT NULL,
+	recipientId int,
+	subject TEXT NOT NULL,
 	message TEXT,
 	is_read BOOLEAN DEFAULT FALSE,
 	type VARCHAR(50),

templates/account/messages/index.html

@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+{{ define "content" }}
+<div class="container py-4">
+  <h2>Your Messages</h2>
+  <ul class="list-group mt-3">
+    {{ range .Messages }}
+      <li class="list-group-item d-flex justify-content-between align-items-center">
+        <div>
+          <a href="/account/messages/read?id={{ .ID }}" class="{{ if not .IsRead }}fw-bold{{ end }}">
+            {{ .Subject }}
+          </a>
+          <div class="small text-muted">{{ .CreatedAt.Format "02 Jan 2006 15:04" }}</div>
+        </div>
+        {{ if not .IsRead }}
+        <span class="badge bg-primary">Unread</span>
+        {{ end }}
+      </li>
+    {{ else }}
+      <li class="list-group-item text-muted text-center">No messages</li>
+    {{ end }}
+  </ul>
+</div>
+{{ end }}

templates/account/messages/read.html

@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+{{ define "content" }}
+<div class="container py-5">
+  {{ if .Message }}
+    <h2>{{ .Message.Subject }}</h2>
+    <p class="text-muted">Received: {{ .Message.CreatedAt.Format "02 Jan 2006 15:04" }}</p>
+    <hr>
+    <p>{{ .Message.Body }}</p>
+    <a href="/account/messages" class="btn btn-secondary mt-4">Back to Inbox</a>
+  {{ else }}
+    <div class="alert alert-danger text-center">
+      Message not found or access denied.
+    </div>
+  {{ end }}
+</div>
+{{ end }}

templates/account/notifications/index.html

@@ -1,23 +1,29 @@
-{{ define "notifications" }}
+{{ define "content" }}
 <div class="container py-4">
-  <h2 class="mb-4">Notifications</h2>
+  <h2 class="mb-4">Your Notifications</h2>
 
   {{ if .Notifications }}
-  <ul class="list-group">
+    <ul class="list-group">
-    {{ range .Notifications }}
+      {{ range .Notifications }}
-    <li class="list-group-item d-flex justify-content-between align-items-start {{ if not .IsRead }}fw-bold{{ end }}">
+        <li class="list-group-item d-flex justify-content-between align-items-start {{ if not .IsRead }}bg-light{{ end }}">
-      <div class="ms-2 me-auto">
+          <div class="ms-2 me-auto">
-        <div class="fw-semibold">{{ .Title }}</div>
+            <div class="fw-bold">
-        <small class="text-muted">{{ .Message }}</small>
+              <a href="/account/notifications/read?id={{ .ID }}" class="{{ if not .IsRead }}text-primary fw-bold{{ end }}">
-      </div>
+                {{ .Subject }}
-      {{ if not .IsRead }}
+              </a>
-      <a href="/account/notifications/read?id={{ .ID }}" class="badge bg-primary text-decoration-none">Mark as read</a>
+            </div>
+            <small class="text-muted">{{ .CreatedAt.Format "Jan 2, 2006 15:04" }}</small>
+          </div>
+          {{ if not .IsRead }}
+            <span class="badge bg-warning text-dark">New</span>
+          {{ end }}
+        </li>
       {{ end }}
-    </li>
+    </ul>
-    {{ end }}
-  </ul>
   {{ else }}
-  <div class="alert alert-info">You have no notifications.</div>
+    <div class="alert alert-info text-center">
+      You don’t have any notifications.
+    </div>
   {{ end }}
 </div>
 {{ end }}

templates/topbar.html

@@ -82,33 +82,35 @@
       <a class="nav-link text-dark" href="#" id="messageDropdown" role="button" data-bs-toggle="dropdown"
         aria-expanded="false">
         <i class="bi bi-envelope fs-5 position-relative">
-          <!-- Unread badge (example: 2 messages) -->
+          {{ if gt .MessageCount 0 }}
-          <span
+          <span class="position-absolute top-0 start-0 translate-middle badge rounded-pill bg-danger text-dark badge-small">
-            class="position-absolute top-0 start-0 translate-middle badge rounded-pill bg-danger text-dark badge-small">2</span>
+            {{ if gt .MessageCount 15 }}15+{{ else }}{{ .MessageCount }}{{ end }}
+          </span>
+          {{ end }}
         </i>
       </a>
       <ul class="dropdown-menu dropdown-menu-end dropdown-message-box shadow-sm dropdown-with-arrow"
         aria-labelledby="messageDropdown">
         <li class="dropdown-header text-center fw-bold">Messages</li>
-        <li>
+        <li><hr class="dropdown-divider"></li>
-          <hr class="dropdown-divider">
+    
-        </li>
+        {{ if .Messages }}
-
+          {{ range $i, $m := .Messages }}
-        <!-- Example message item -->
+          <li class="px-3 py-2">
-        <li class="px-3 py-2">
+            <div class="d-flex align-items-start">
-          <div class="d-flex align-items-start">
+              <i class="bi bi-person-circle me-2 fs-4 text-secondary"></i>
-            <i class="bi bi-person-circle me-2 fs-4 text-secondary"></i>
+              <div>
-            <div>
+                <div class="fw-semibold">{{ $m.Subject }}</div>
-              <div class="fw-semibold">Admin</div>
+                <small class="text-muted">{{ truncate $m.Body 40 }}</small>
-              <small class="text-muted">Welcome to SynLotto!</small>
+              </div>
             </div>
-          </div>
+          </li>
-        </li>
+          <li><hr class="dropdown-divider"></li>
-
+          {{ end }}
-        <li>
+          <li class="text-center"><a href="/account/messages" class="dropdown-item">View all messages</a></li>
-          <hr class="dropdown-divider">
+        {{ else }}
-        </li>
+          <li class="text-center text-muted py-2">No messages</li>
-        <li class="text-center"><a href="/messages" class="dropdown-item">View all messages</a></li>
+        {{ end }}
       </ul>
     </div>